Kronenbourg starts £3m sports drive

Scottish Courage is spending up to &£3m on a marketing campaign based on French sport for its premium-packaged lager Kronenbourg 1664 to tackle runaway market-leader Stella Artois.

The theme of the campaign ties in with Kronenbourg 1664’s French heritage – the brand is brewed under licence by Scottish Courage in the UK from French food and drink manufacturer Danone.

Scottish Courage senior brand manager James Stocker says the new below-the-line campaign, called L’Esprit du Sport, is expected to run for at least two years and is likely to become the key marketing theme for Kronenbourg in UK pubs, clubs and off-licences.

The campaign will link the brand with prestigious French sporting events, including the Tour de France and the French Open as well as the Six Nations Rugby Union competition (which has been expanded to include Italy). It will act as an umbrella catchline for a series of promotions offering free trips and prizes.

A Website is being launched on the back of the campaign. Its designers say it can be linked to the Websites of promotional partners such as Sainsbury’s. The grocery chain is in talks with Kronenbourg over an in-store promotional deal.

Stocker says: “This campaign will be a long-term programme which, because there are so many different French sporting events, gives us a tremendous amount of flexibility.”

The campaign is part of a &£12m push to build the brand, which is number two in the premium lager market behind Whitbread-brewed Stella.